Obama’s birth certificate still an issue in Texas?

When President Obama was sworn in Tuesday, he paused as he exited, commenting that he wanted one last look at the crowd on the Mall since he would never experience another Inauguration. After all, the twenty-second amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits presidents to two terms.

But Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, apparently hasn’t given up concerns about Obama’s qualifications to be president, based on persistent rumors that his Hawaiian birth certificate was faked. Zedler has filed HB 650, which would authorize the Texas Secretary of State to “obtain a certified copy of the candidate’s birth certificate from the original issuing authority” before placing any presidential or vice-presidential candidate on a Texas ballot.

The bill further stipulates that the name of a candidate for president or vice-president may only be placed on a Texas ballot only if “the party’s nominees’ possess the qualifications for those offices prescribed by federal law.”

Last April, Obama released his official birth certificate after years of rampant rumors from the so-called “birther movement” that he was born in Kenya, saying at the time, “We are not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers.”

If Zedler’s bill gets a hearing, it won’t be the first time the Texas Legislature has been compared to a circus.